Quotes – Nonfiction

INTRODUCTION“There are no secrets. Nothing is withheld by God. Yet, it is only by our own sincere searching, the evolutionary stage we have reached, and the grace of God that we come into contact with spiritual pathways and teachers that are right for us at any particular time.”

“Spiritual principles, if true, are true for everyone. That is the yardstick that validates their authenticity. Authentic spiritual ideas also have the universal power to heal. Healing is the building block of both individual and collective spiritual evolution.”

“Authentic spiritual ideas have the power to heal. Healing is the building block of both individual and collective spiritual evolution.”

SOLUTIONS ARE SPIRITUAL

The Dark Night of the Soul“It is, often, in the utter despair of humanness that we become willing to consider deeply spiritual answers. Although the door and the guide will be different for people, once the door is open, we are all in the same territory. Spiritual truth irretrievably alters our way of seeing reality and our ability to heal both ourselves and other people. Most spiritual awakening is due to a total disappointment in the human condition to provide any sense of substantial happiness. It is a blessing in disguise. Our greatest need is for the love and assurance that spiritual understanding brings. If it were not for the common experience of human lovelessness and limitation then we would not be driven to seek a higher love.”

“To understand the love of being loving radically changes us. People, in and of themselves, cannot give us happiness. Activities, in and of themselves, cannot give us happiness. One becomes a loving presence; a centre for Divine grace.”

THE TWO INTELLIGENT QUESTIONS

“What are our problems telling us? Physical symptoms and other problems have corresponding thoughts. If we are able to understand these corresponding thoughts, we will have uncovered the meaning of our problems. All problems – physical, mental, emotional, experiential – are reduced to the thoughts which essentially make up the problem. Far from being a handicap, our problems are our guideposts. They point out the many ways in which our thoughts are founded on unhelpful, incorrect, and harmful concepts. Once the meaning of our problems is understood, we can spiritually correct our thinking. This change in thought will inevitably bring some sort of healing. Healing will manifest in a more beautiful, calm, healthy, loving, and beneficial life.”

Blame“A positive side effect of working on the meaning of our problems is that we are forced to give up blaming. Nothing could be more beneficial to our spiritual progress. We refrain from blaming our bodies, hereditary factors, economic conditions, our partner, our parents, our upbringing, our boss or any other person. Knowing that our problems have meanings does not mean that we now blame ourselves for our miserable condition instead of other people. It means we understand that our problems are telling us something is not spiritually correct in our thinking. Without reproach or guilt, we understand that we just don’t understand enough yet. However, we are going to. That is why we are students on the spiritual path.”

THE ELEVEN PRINCIPLES OF METAPSYCHIATRY

“Wise individuals often say very little but what they say tends to hit the mark. Such remarks can remain in the mind of the recipient for a long time, perhaps a lifetime.”

FORGIVENESS AND COMPASSION

A Holy Process“Forgiving is easier when we understand that forgiving someone else means that we are freeing ourselves of an unnecessary burden.”

BENEFICIAL PRESENCE IN THE WORLD

The Four W’s“Being popular or not, having company or being alone are not issues of concern for the developed soul.”

The Four Horsemen“We become increasingly aware that the human dream, the human drama, with all its questionable, damaging, and often malevolent intention is not real life at all.”

The Door to Joy“When we maintain a conscious connection with Gratitude, our presence will naturally radiate a certain beauty and undisturbed, inner tranquillity. Such individuals glow. All such individuals look beautiful and seem irresistible to those who value goodness. They have an attractor field of loveliness which, likewise, tends to bring out the beauty in other people.”

DON’T MAKE A MOVE WITHOUT GOD

“Spiritual progress is inevitably accompanied by better human circumstances in one way or another.”

SPIRITUAL HEALING

The Process of Change“Don’t feel bad about feeling bad. Don’t be frightened of feeling afraid. Don’t be angry about getting angry. There is no need to give up when we are feeling depressed. Nor should we be dismayed at the grief which often accompanies the outgrowing of anything which needs outgrowing. We can be glad that our soul is speaking to us and pushing us onwards. We frequently need to persevere with a period of inner turmoil before the dust can settle and be swept out the door.”

Mind Reading and Psychic Ability“Extrasensory abilities are naturally developed within us by being more receptive to the subtler and finer messages around us. We all have extrasensory, as well as sensory, faculties.”

I Am Not Here“If we become aware that someone is sending thoughts of ill will in our direction, we do not argue with the apparent reality of malice. To do so would give it more substance. We remove the personal sense of ourself and the other person.”

Conversations and Gossip“One of the first serious spiritual practices I learned in my early twenties was to watch what I was talking about. It is unfortunate but not surprising that most people have no idea what they are saying, to whom, and the consequences of that on themselves and others. If we want to be happy; don’t gossip, don’t spread hate, don’t talk about other people, don’t spread fear, don’t complain, don’t relay stories which are detrimental to the well-being of those around us. That will cut out the vast majority of most people’s conversations. There is a time for honest, well-intentioned directness but it is not found in common conversation and it is a learned skill. Be a bringer of peace and healing. It’s a discipline, for sure, but one that will transform our lives.”

“As spiritual students, we need to be careful that the influence we have on other people in our conversations is for good only. We also need to be careful about what we allow into our own thoughts. We become conscious of what we do and say, and of what we see and hear. We do not engage in idle or intentional gossip which undermines someone else’s integrity or which spreads the seeds of fear by talking unthinkingly about illness, disasters, and all the other fears that run rampant in the world. We may talk lightly but never carelessly and we constantly keep at bay the flow of common, ignorant thought which runs its damaging course through the pathways of ordinary human conversation. Whenever there is an opportunity, our conversation seeks to validate, in some humble way, the beauty and love which constantly upholds us all.”

“We do not engage in idle or intentional gossip which undermines someone else’s integrity or which spreads the seeds of fear by talking unthinkingly about illness, disasters, and all the other fears which run rampant in the world.”

“We may talk lightly but never carelessly. We keep at bay the flow of common, ignorant thought which runs its damaging course through the pathways of ordinary human conversation.”

THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE

Companionship and Love“We can learn to become open to all the varied and, sometimes, unexpected ways in which love will bless us and use us.”

“One who knows their connection with divine Love can never feel the isolation of loneliness or the fear of being rejected or deserted. One cannot be apart from or turned away from a Love which knows no parting and is present and available under all circumstances.”

No Love is Lovely but the Divine“Much misery in caused in relationships by the expectation that the other person can and should be a personal provider of good for us. This expectation brings an endless array of problems and is one which we need to outgrow as individuals who are seeking freedom from the troubles of the human condition. No person is able to give what only divine Love can give. Relationships, of their own power, cannot give us the love and happiness that really have a Divine, not human, origin. We don’t ask from other people what only God can supply.”

“All desirable qualities are, in essence, spiritual ideas. Beauty, purity, love, kindness, warmth, joy, humour, creativity, talent, power, intelligence, protection, and forthrightness are expressions of God manifest in the world. We appreciate every lovely quality that comes to us through the life of another but, ultimately, God is the source of all good, not another person. Our connection with others is primarily based on letting the inner spiritual beauty spring forth into life in the many and varied ways it will choose to do so. Our happiness, peace, safety, and individual development is protected and we find that all things will work together for good.”

Creativity and Beauty“In creative pursuits, we connect with the qualities of our inner being. We open up to the invisible, yet, powerful world of Spirit. It carries with it all the immensity, love, power, wisdom, beauty, and harmony of the Universe. We are part of it. We allow it to flow through us with the beautiful feeling and potency of that which supports the entire world and more. We are a channel for universal energy, passion, and soul. It is Energy which explodes into all creative activity. It is Passion which gives us courage and unlimited vision. It is Soul which moves us beyond our own limited world to see the interconnectedness of all humanity.”

“The spiritual world is always available to us. We don’t need to make it happen. It is already here. We just need to see it; be part of it; open to it. Even a slight move in that direction is enough for Love to come rushing in. Under the influence of the Divine presence, all of our activities became more beautiful, expressive, healing, and uplifting.”

Grief“Every beautiful and wonderful quality in someone is abundantly present and waiting to be recognised in all of life’s great symphony.”

The Love of Devotion

INTRODUCTION

“As students of life, we seek both relief from suffering and growth of happiness. Nothing is withheld by God, yet, it is only by our sincere searching and the evolutionary stage we have reached that we come into contact with various teachings which leave us wiser than when we first found them.”

“Deeply considering uplifting ideas raises our consciousness from the realm of the material problem into the powerful and harmonious realm of the spiritual. It is what a dedicated spiritual practice is all about. We give up our own ideas, hurts, fears, and grudges and concede to the Greater. We expand and we heal. It becomes apparent that it would be impossible to feel alone as we are intimately connected to a thriving life-force. It is everything, yet, it is nothing. It grows silently and steadily. We are already it and It is already us. We continue to go forward with our spiritual practices and these practices increasingly envelop us in loveliness. We come out the other side as a transparent being; nameless but with the mark of God.”

“It becomes apparent that it would be impossible to feel alone as we are intimately connected to a thriving life-force.”

“There is a grand and magnificent truth which radiates from within all life and from within each of us. We are spiritual co-inhabitants of a spiritual world. Discover the sweet lightness in your heart, the luminescent glow of God’s beauty, and a true appreciation of the wonderful gift of life which glows unmarred through every human error. We are loved by the Divine, loved into existence. That, in itself, is enough to reassure each one of us of our inestimable worth.”

“We are spiritual co-inhabitants of a spiritual world.”

“We are loved by the Divine, loved into existence. That, in itself, is enough to reassure each one of us of our inestimable worth.”

Nice is Not Always Nice“Intention is everything. Is there love in what a person says or is there underlying ill-will? Intention will determine the destined outcome of any situation. The same ‘kind’ words from one person can be a healing balm and from another, a sweet poison. The same ‘harsh’ words from one person can be malice and from another, save a life. The intention behind the words, action, or thought is always what makes it weak or strong, effective or ineffective, healing or harmful.”

Relationship Status“It is a mistake to think that we need a certain type of relationship to be happy. If we crave a relationship when we are single, we will bring that wanting into any relationship with the consequent problems. To feel that destiny will provide us with what best meets our deepest needs is to be able to enter into any stage of life with confidence and a sense of completeness, not a sense of lack which someone else is supposed to fill.”

Currents of the Sea“In the bedroom, three are present – the two partners and the Divine. Use the openness and vulnerability of the sexual arena to grow closer to God and give that same gift to your loved one.”

GRIST FOR THE MILL

“Everyone is a ‘spiritual student’ doing ‘spiritual work’ because everyone is here and has to cope, one way or another, with life. The difference is that an aware person learns from their pain and they eventually create a happy life. An unaware person also has pain. However, as they do not know (or do not want to know) how to help themselves, they learn little or nothing from their pain. Thus their journey to happiness is long and indirect.”

Raving Lunatics to Peaceful Warriors“One has to beckon the spiritual warrior inside oneself whenever it is deemed necessary for the task at hand. Courage is the fuel. Healing is the direction. Forgiveness is the balm. Love is the atmosphere Divine.”

Courage“Courage is the starting point of everything good. To love another is to automatically feed the fire of courage. We cannot be humiliated when we are fighting for someone or something we love. We will not give up when we are fighting for loved ones. As we evolve, our loved ones extend out from our family to include all of humanity. Courage and confidence will grow over the years with practice and self-awareness. We are never alone. God will help us. Such is the courage which gains respect from others. More importantly, we gain respect for ourselves.”

All Fear is Fallacious“It is not possible to be seduced by the lure of ego-gratification or intimidated by the tyranny of imposters when we know that we are as the angels. We are loved beyond comprehension. So, we must claim our rightful inheritance and live with the confidence of protection.”

HEALING

Continuum of Evolution“Every thought and every deed is forever recorded in the invisible history of life and cannot help but come back to us in kind. In fact, that is how we evolve. We pay for our mistakes by suffering. We are rewarded for our progress through added happiness. It is not that God punishes or rewards us. It is the natural and inevitable working of life, the unavoidable consequences that will always return to us. We do not have to punish our so-called enemies. We do not have to punish ourselves for our own mistakes. Our own resulting suffering is enough punishment and will ensure our eventual progress. Self-healing is based on a willingness to understand our own vulnerabilities and weaknesses, and then to forgive them all. If we knew better, we would do better. There is an inbuilt innocence intrinsic to our nature as part of our human existence. It is the child within which causes us such problems and refuses to grow up. We acknowledge the truth about God’s child, the higher innate innocence of all beings.”

“To forgive oneself does not negate the need to undo mistakes. True forgiveness desires to make things right. Making things right is not equivalent to guilt. The need to undo mistakes cannot be replaced by guilt. In fact, being immobilised by guilt is an avoidance of fixing things up. It makes one powerless and gives one an excuse to remain passive and negligent. To continuously feel guilty over wrongdoing is both ego-confirmatory and ineffective in correcting bad karma. Guilt is the initial spur to action. Then we act in order to correct both our thoughts and the karma, and we leave the guilt behind.”

No Martyrs Please“No one has to be a martyr. On the contrary, everyone should be entirely selfish; not selfish in the normal sense of the word but selfish in the way of knowing that the spiritual path means we value everything which adds to our own well-being. When we love, we live with connectedness. When we forgive, we feel stress-free. When we create, we live with inspiration. When we follow our inner direction, we feel alive. Is that even a choice?”

“A balanced, inner calmness radiates from a peaceful centre. It neither craves others’ approval nor rejects others’ presence. It neither pulls towards nor pushes away. It has a reverent attitude towards life and all its inhabitants. It has compassion for the inevitable weaknesses of the human condition. It has nothing to gain from others’ approval. It is not self-seeking. It is not needy, grabbing or manipulative. It embodies gracious respect for everything beautiful including other human souls. It has a lively freedom, a happy composure, a quick and engaging wit, and an intelligent, interested, and interesting mental attitude.”

“Some people have a seemingly quiet life but they are noisy inside. Some people have a seemingly busy life but they have a quietness within. To lessen the inner noise we can develop self-awareness, introspection, and stillness. We grow in solitude. We need quiet times. They make our life happier and less problematic. They move us closer to glowing health, agelessness, peace, prosperity, clear thinking, inspired ideas, harmonious and interesting relationships, and effective problem-solving. They secure our personal and spiritual progress. As we become more conscious through the practice of quiet times, we progressively lose the problems of illness, stress, confusion, and relationship breakdowns. By having quiet times, we start to wake up.”

Commonality of Thought“Seeing the commonality of human thought helps us to view our ego tendencies in a less personal and more universal way. It relieves guilt and gives lightness to the path by virtue of the collective and general nature of human experience. The ego is a shared human problem and its dissolution is a benefit to all mankind. Human life is inevitably filled with many hurts and injustices. We do not live in a world of enlightened beings, nor are we enlightened ourselves. We live in a world where most people are struggling, unhappy, and having numerous problems of all sorts.”

In the Midst of Humanity“It could be said that we become so much a stranger that we disappear and find ourselves reborn in the midst of humanity which is quite a paradox.”

Peace“Although simple, peace is a highly evolved state of consciousness. It cannot live side-by-side with the ego. We choose one or the other. Peace is the predominant quality of spiritual advancement. The unassuming quality of peace wins the day when it comes to the soul’s progression. To choose peace means that we give up the rantings and ravings, demands and hurts, wants and cravings of the personal mind. The personal self feeds off injustices, imagined injustices, complaining, conflict, excitement, drama, and all the goings-on of normal human life. At some point, when we have suffered enough or have enough wisdom, we tire of the whole thing. We sincerely prefer peace.”

“Life is naturally going to have ups and downs, comings and goings, pleasures and hardships, joy and pain. Let us be kind to ourselves, understanding that we are here to learn. And let us be kind to others, knowing that peace is the ultimate prize of life and nothing is worth more. Simply to side with peace is to disempower the ego’s hold. In so doing, the natural, beautiful, and healing rhythms of life have a chance to start singing their sweet song in our listening ear.”

Grace“When there is no tension between the inner beingness and that which is being expressed, there is grace.”

Greatest Gift“The greatest gift we can give the world is our own evolution.”

Love’s Longing

INTRODUCTION

“Somewhere along the way, there develops within the soul a yearning that can no longer be ignored, a craving for the great love affair. We feel it drawing ever closer. It is the greatest of them all. It cannot fail. It is all-consuming. It is incomparable. It is the love affair with our own true nature and the source from which it comes. The desire is in all of us but, more often than not, it is ignored for other interests. We wrestle with each interest, trying to make it work, growing with each adventure until the light has grown bright enough for us to reach for it.”

“Human love is the shadow of the Great love; its child. And of all human loves, it is romantic love which has the most riveting effect upon our soul. Ageless and perennial, it is forever finding an outlet in poetry, music, dance, story-telling, and the media. We never tire of it. It commands attention at so many turns, such is the longing for its presence in our life. It is not by accident that it has such an unfailing pull on our psyche. If we cannot connect with visible human love, we will not be able to find the invisible Love. Human love is leading us, most of us unknowingly, straight to the divinity of our own nature. And that nature leads us, in turn, to the source of life itself.”

“We love with all our heart, in every way that we can love but the heart is not burdened. We learn to keep it light and pliable. It has space. It breathes. It waits on Life to give instructions. It sings with sweetness when the winds are soft and warm. It stands with calm patience when the storm is brewing. It lets go when death and seeming endings have left their irrefutable mark. It moves. It heals. It hopes. It allows Life to be lived in the safe, fertile, and still inner space where it grows stronger and more compelling every day.”

WALKING THROUGH THE DARK PLACES

“It is our deepest hurts which have the power to help and heal us. What else carries an internal fire big enough to force us forwards? What else has the momentum to wake us up? What else has enough pain to make us long for something better? What else will drive us into the waiting arms of that beautiful, invisible life-force which yearns to help us? What else will teach us to feel the love which has no betrayal; the love which seeks only good?”

Consciousness Awareness“The human cannot be ignored or ostracized – it will always win. It must be trained by a higher wisdom and a growing spiritual power.”

NOT AS IT SEEMS

What is This For?“To get to the underlying intention of anything, it helps to ask ourselves, WHAT IS THIS FOR? We can ask it about everything. Eventually, it is not necessary to ask it so often as experience and wisdom lead the way with little effort. Once asked, we must listen for the answer. Don’t listen to the ego’s answer. Its answer will, usually, be the opposite of the truth. Ask with an open mind. Once we know what a particular venture or relationship is based on, we will also know its outcome. We are not trying to understand intention so that we can then damn every person who thinks badly of us. We are trying to understand intention so that we are safer, our loved ones are safer, and so that our life projects are not sabotaged. And we want to help other people to become a better version of themselves. We are not blaming people for acting and thinking badly. Acting and thinking badly is normal in our world. We want to help it to improve. We want everyone to improve.”

Hating and Healing“We are not trying to understand intention so that we can damn every person who thinks badly of us. We are trying to understand intention so that we are safer, our loved ones are safer, and so that our life projects are not sabotaged. We want to help other people to become a better version of themselves. We are not blaming people for acting and thinking badly. Acting and thinking badly is normal in our world. We want to help it to improve. We want everyone to improve.”

NIGHTMARES

“I am always safe.
I am protected by God who cares for me day and night.
God’s power is infinitely greater than any power to the contrary.
The angels are around me, keeping me safe, and whispering good things into the ears of my friends and enemies.
There are many, passed-over loved ones (even those I do not know) who watch over me and pray for me.
I have a purpose on Earth and God will help me to fulfil it.
I release my fears. I am at peace.”

RELATIONSHIPS ARE A LIVING THING

Evolution“Even if our life circumstances take a while to reflect our inner decisions, once decisions are made, everything in our life will move in the direction of aligning with that.”

The Good Fight“A bad fight is anything which does not help to move the relationship and the people involved forward. If one dominates the other, it will eventually be at the expense of the relationship. Everything depends on the intention. If the intention is to hurt, belittle, ignore, reject or win then good will struggle to come from that. If the intention is to wrestle with some boundaries and deal with unresolved issues then that is positive and important. Love for the other person and respect for their rights, as well as our own rights, will set a steady course for any argument. Of most value is a sincere desire to make the relationship work which, after all, is often why we fight. We want the relationship to honestly work.”

Agreement“We give our all to our relationships. We give our love, pain, joy, fear, and hope. We give our body, mind, and spirit. We trust the other person with all that we are. Fighting is a small price to pay for the opportunity to give something as beautiful as a person’s whole being. The really beneficial relationships are the ones where we are deeply connected to the other. Sometimes, they tear us apart and then reform us. They can be painful and scary ventures. One has to have courage. One day, there will be nothing left to fight about.”

“Relationships matter. Who they are with and in what form they manifest is secondary to the quality of the relationship. Is it truthful? Is it life-changing? Are we present? Is the other person ‘there’? Does it engage us? Does it help us grow? Relationships ultimately teach us love but we need to be available to learn it.”

Hitting the Spot“Contrary to popular opinion, the primary goal of relationships is not to make us happy. Relationships make us grow. That growth will, with time, naturally increase our happiness. Growth has a price, and that’s the bit we don’t like paying. It ranges from uncomfortable to downright torturous depending on the issue, how deeply seated it is, how much work we have previously done on it, how resistant we are to working on it, and how much painful emotion is attached to the issue from past experiences. At any price, it’s still a bargain.”

Fear of Grief“People hurting us helps us to let go of wanting them to love us. It is the beginning of learning how to love purely.”

“If we are afraid of the pain of grief, we will be afraid of confrontation. We may not leave relationships that should be left for fear of grief. We may be reluctant to enter into relationships that should be entered into for fear of them not working and the consequent suffering. Love, surprisingly, helps to heal the loss of love. Not the soppy love of romantics. Not the self-seeking love of infatuated would-be lovers. Not weak, needy love, but real love. It says, ‘No matter what, I will do what is best for you, me, my child, my friend, and those I dedicate my love to. If that is painful, I will still choose it.’”

PULL TO PARTNER

Search Party“The companion we choose before choosing our human companion is what will determine the outcome. We choose either the ego or spirit as our initial companion. Both will be campaigning for our vote. The ego uses every trick it knows. It seduces with talk of our deservedness. Then it ignites our fear that we are actually worthless and should do all we can to hide this fact. It is the mother of all liars and will try and terrify us into accepting its guidance. Spiritual love and the ego are not compatible mates. If one is winning, the other will be losing. There are irreconcilable differences.”

Those Who Belong To Us“There is a small group of people who are our special ones: our partners, children, and other loved ones. They are our dearest ones. Somehow, they belong to us and us to them. We didn’t really choose them but nor did we not choose them. Our beloved children did not just randomly come to us. Long before their material arrival, they were a part of us, as we have always been a part of them. Partners and other dearly loved ones, likewise, did not just randomly appear in our life as if, just as easily, we could have missed them or replaced them with some other random. No, they are the ones that were marked in our heart already. We recognize them as belonging to us. This belonging gives love a certain stability, permanence, and resilience.”

“People are naturally drawn together – those who belong to each other. It’s a very instinctive thing. Such important decisions as who to let into our life and in what way we will let that person in are best made from a deep knowing in our heart. Many relationships seem irrational to other people. Sometimes, the depth of a relationship and what the people will do to remain together may seem incomprehensible. If we understand there is a certain belonging to each other then it helps to go with the flow of life. Sometimes, people come together for a short time as that is the design of that relationship. Sometimes, it’s a lifetime. Sometimes, it’s much longer than one life on Earth.”

Destined Relationships“In the end, so long as love is present, we will not miss out. Love attracts love and it is always rewarded. We must trust that our love will inevitably return to us, even if we cannot demand in which way and at what time we will have it returned.”

Timing“There is a part of us that knows the timing of any relationship. It knows things that we cannot work out. It knows when to say yes. It knows when to say no. It knows when to wait. It knows when something has finished. It knows when something has started. It knows when we have a responsibility to another person. It knows when the ties are untied. It knows if they are not. It will not betray us or another.”

Commitment“All significant relationships have a price. It’s not that relationships are a sacrifice. After all, who wants a life of sacrifice? It is more a matter of priorities. We can’t do everything in life and we can’t be with everyone in life. In choosing what we will do and with whom, we automatically make priorities. If something is at the top of our list then other things have to come second or third or last.”

“The price of a successful relationship is devotion. Devotion is, essentially, commitment to something we value. We are devoted to the wellbeing of another person and the wellbeing of the relationship. We honour the value of the other person and we honour the worth of the relationship.”

THE LOVE OF LOVERS

Possessiveness“We don’t know when a compatible person will come into our life. We don’t know, for sure, if they will leave or stay. If they leave, we don’t know if they will return. We don’t know if we will always feel the relationship is compatible and if we will want to be there. We don’t really know anything. We can only graciously accept what life brings and all the terror of change that comes with it and then keep moving forward. Life is not static. It doesn’t start nor does it end. It changes form. It is ongoing with highs and lows, successes and crushing failures, experiments, beautiful moments, touching visions, angers, forgiveness, awe, and love.”

“If we learn not to grab, insist, manipulate, or force then the precious moments have more chance of just appearing, usually, when we are not looking. They may even stay a little longer if we do not grasp onto them insisting that they do not move. With practice, consistency, and commitment to the evolution of the partnership, something beautiful and meaningful has a chance of evolving.”

“It is for the very reason that we cannot control other people and that they may be very different to us that something alive and interesting may happen in life.”

Transformation“Truly loving people are uncommon. They are as uncommon as awake people. Our success in learning about love will directly correlate to our level of happiness. It is certainly worth persevering with the learning process which involves a great deal of honesty, introspection, and forgiveness. Even if we are the only one in the relationship on that path, it doesn’t matter. We will still be blessed with our own happiness and isn’t that the bottom line of what we all want? Our first responsibility is to create a happy life for ourselves. If the other person in the relationship learns to also value love, honesty, and forgiveness then the relationship will transform, usually slowly, into a strong connection which is good for the couple and others alike.”

“Even though true love is very different to falling in love, nevertheless, we mustn’t stop the fall of falling in love. There’s a certain surrender to falling in love. We have to let go of something of ourselves to fall in love with another person. When it becomes clear that love is not maintainable under the same belief system that made us fall in love, we can reassess our course. After the fall of falling in love, there is a steep climb back up again but we can make sure that we are climbing in the right direction. And that makes all the difference.”

In Love with Life“Falling in love is falling in love with our own and another’s truest self. It is ignited by the presence of another but we become beautiful ourselves as well as seeing beauty in the other. A man or woman in love is a magnet for love and affection from everywhere. While we deeply appreciate who God has given us to love, nevertheless, we can learn to be in love with the whole of life. To be in love with Life is to be in touch with our spiritual essence. It is to see beauty and loveliness wherever we go. It is to see the glow of divinity in all those around us. There is less need to fret over our loved one’s presence or absence. There is less need to possessively fear our loved one’s affections or interests. Love does not come from another person, although, it will pass through another’s heart. It comes from the great source of all life.”

“To be in love with Life is to be in touch with our spiritual essence. It is to see beauty and loveliness wherever we go. It is to see the glow of divinity in all those around us.”

“If we try every day to find that place inside us that can see a little more light and give a little more love, the quality of our life will improve significantly. We all long for love. It is the human inheritance to have such a longing. However, we must discover that in order to find it, we must give it. And when we learn to give it, we find that it is, quite amazingly, everywhere around us.”

THE GREAT LOVE AFFAIR

“To find the great Love, we must, one way or another, die the great death.”

Yearning“All love is good, and all love leads to the same place.”

“The soul must first realize that something seems to be missing before it can, one day, know that nothing was missing at all.”

Efficacy of Learning“The driving motivation of a spiritual teacher is to show that while the extent of human problems is understood, there is a different way of seeing life.”

Love and Perseverance“If love isn’t there, nothing will last long. If it is present, there will always be hope and, in the end, it will win. The presence of love is vital and sacrosanct.”

Guides“The path is paved with consistent, conscious mental and spiritual alertness and the gradual growth of goodness in our heart and clarity in our mind. We are awake. If we keep trying to understand, we will understand. If we keep telling ourselves that we are loved by Life and if we keep looking for evidence of that love, we will find it.”

“Dancing is an innately spiritual affair. It reaches beyond words to the essence of beauty. Its height is Divinity and its depth is humanity. It is the ever-moving balance between independence and intimacy. All the while, it reaches into the great Beyond.”

The Flame Ignites“We are no one else. We are ourselves. We must be that, with no regrets, if we wish to be happy. If we keep going forward, following our own natural, intuitive, and sincere path then all things will have a tendency to align with what is a good intention.”

Being in Our Body“Our body is important. It’s the first gift God gives us. We are meant to take care of it for the entire time we have it. We are meant to be grateful for it, use it, enjoy it, and learn from it. At the same time, we are not meant to obsess over it, be vain, be a hypochondriac, or be a pleasure seeker at other people’s expense.”

Neither Beginning nor End“We are neither young nor old. The Infinite can neither begin nor can it end. This is the inherent nature of our life force. To free ourselves from the limitations of both youth and age is to encompass a journey full of adventure, growth, success, fulfilment, and surprising achievements. If we do not limit ourselves with notions of age then we will find that life will oblige by also disregarding the normal limitations of certain age groups. We will be attractive to others because, far from being a burden, we will have something worthwhile and valuable to offer others all through the blossoming years.”

Authenticity“Young dancers have a beautiful, strong, flexible, and resilient body. And they have the fire of hope in their heart. However, the fire can be a bit feral like a young alley cat. It can go everywhere, in all directions, willy-nilly. It can turn all claws and spitting or it can get nervous and run away. It pretends things that aren’t true and is afraid of showing what is true. The older cat bides his time. He has patience. He pulls the fire inside and lets it smoulder. He doesn’t waste his energy on fights not worth the battle or where the casualties would be greater than the goal. He owns his failures like scars that say it would be wise to take him seriously. He is not ashamed of his loves. He values his spirit and lets it grow. It’s in the eyes. The body may move less but it has presence and a power of a different sort. It is authentic.”

Appreciation“Dancing, at its best, is independence and intimacy in balance.”

Risk“It is for the very reason that people are different that something alive and interesting can possibly happen in dance and in life. It is fragile, definitely. In dancing, not only is there the technique and dancing capabilities of each person to consider, there is the even greater, more impactful field of the nature of each – the depth or lack of it, the amount of fire inside them, the presence or absence of calmness, the quality of mental lucidity, the willingness to navigate through emotional openness, the capacity to not indulge in neediness and self-pity while still maintaining an emotional transparency, and the willingness or otherwise of bringing one’s soul to the table and seeing what the other will do with it. All high risk.”

Partnering“We bring all that we are to any partnership and certainly to dancing. Even without touching, the energy field around each person touches the other’s auric field. And, of course, the eyes are the transparent waterway to the soul. Do not the eyes tell a million stories? Whether conscious of it or not, we want to extend ourselves through this contact with another soul or souls.”

Believing in Ourselves“We don’t have desires by accident. Good desires are planted in us because we are meant to follow them, explore them, wrestle with them, and have them form us. If we do this and do it in the right way, the result is happiness. If we do anything in the right way, the result is happiness.”

Fulfilling Our Potential“To be happy, we must fulfil our individual innate potential. Otherwise, we will feel frustrated at some level. In fulfilling ourselves, we will naturally contribute something of worth to the world. Selfish ambition, whether blatant or secret, destroys many a friendship and many a career. Selfish ambition cannot help but see others as competition. If someone else is succeeding, we think that means that we are not or perhaps not as well as them. Dedication to the good of all, including ourselves, takes the ill-will out of competitive thinking and makes the way to success smoother than we could otherwise orchestrate. We will have God/good on our team.”

We Are Here for God“Creative pursuits are most rewarding when seen as an ongoing way of being in the world. Creativity is an avenue for fulfilling one’s individual potential and a way of being of service to the world by sharing that which we love and feel drawn to. This removes the fuel from self-driven ambition and takes the steam out of competitive thinking. We lose our fear that we will not have a place and we lose the egotistical pride that, frequently, accompanies achievement. We do not cling tightly to that which is good. Nor do we overly grieve that which passes. We do not resent others’ successes. Nor are we afraid to pursue our own.”

We Are One“We are all One. The beauty in one person is shared by all. The life path of one individual blesses everyone. The expression of Life neither originates within a single human, belongs to that person, nor remains within the personal boundary. Life is energy and, as such, it belongs to all, reaches all, and blesses all.”

“Life is energy and, as such, it belongs to all, reaches all, and blesses all.”

“The expression of Life neither originates within a single human nor belongs to that person exclusively. Life is energy and, as such, it belongs to all.”